Bloodlust
by ClearKiss
Summary: A girl appears in Konoha one day, her life shrouded in mystery. She is welcomed warmly, but she hides a terrible secret from her new friends that could destroy everything...
1. Chapter 1

Authors not: Hey, this is my first fan-fic on here but any comments or flames are welcome Yes, I am aware that I suck at writing summaries but if anyone has any suggestions, I'll be pleased to hear them.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, even though my sister wishes I did '

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-1**The girl was standing in the middle of the room, breathing heavily. Around her lay over a dozen bodies, all dead and surrounded by blood. _"More blood…" _the girl hissed, her red eyes glazed over. They flickered clearly for a moment. "No... not again!" the young girl exclaimed in a whisper, shaking her head and looking around her in horror. She dropped the bloody knife she was holding and began to cry silently. Moments leaked by before the girl bent down and picked up her knife again, gripping it tightly. She wiped it off on her skirt and left the room, her eyes once again glazed. _"There will be more blood... There must be…"_**

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Kiba Inuzuka was at the training grounds where all of squad 8 was to meet their sensei. Shino was waiting and Hinata was on her way, close behind them. Their sensei arrived a few minutes later, most likely with another mission for them all. "Alright, team. We have another D-ranked mission. You'll be tending t-" Kurenai started but was interrupted by a loud rustling. A moment later, a young girl stumbled into the grounds from the forest, wearing an old sweater and a short skirt. Both were soaked with blood and she held a sharp kunai knife in her hand. She looked at the group and with a little gasp, she fell to the ground, unconscious.

"Oh no!" Hinata exclaimed and immediately rushed to the girls side. When she turned her over and truly looked at her face, she realized that they were about the same age, at least.

"We need to take her to the hospital immediately." Shino stated quietly, yet seriously. Kurenai looked at her student for a moment before nodding in agreement.

"That blood loss may have her near death already. I'll take her. Now, I need you all to go to Ms. Tanaka's house and tend to her garden. There's nothing more you can do for her now. I'll meet you there soon." Kurenai said then picked up the girl and ran off towards the hospital. Shino started towards Ms. Tanaka's house and Hinata looked after her sensei for a moment before following her teammate. Kiba looked back to where the strange girl had collapsed and saw her bloody kunai lying on the ground. He picked it up and held it up to Akamaru, who sniffed it and growled. Kiba gave him a concerned and understanding look before slipping the knife into his pocket and following after the rest of his squad.

* * *

Their sensei joined them just as they'd finished their job. "How is she?" Hinata asked, feeling concerned.

"She's perfectly fine. Just tired and under-fed." Kurenai explained.

"What about the blood?" Kiba asked and Akamaru barked in agreement. Their sensei just shook her head.

"It wasn't hers. She didn't have a scratch on her. Just a few bruises." she stated simply.

"Not hers?" Hinata asked quietly. Kurenai nodded.

"She should be waking up soon. Do you want to see her?" she asked.

"Oh, yes." Hinata replied and Shino nodded. Kiba thought for a moment before nodding as well. He didn't like this, not one bit. Kurenai proceeded to lead her team to the hospital and right to the mysterious girls room. Her long, snow white hair was fanned out around her face on the pillow. She was also clean and a curious looking bruise on her neck was now much more noticeable without her old clothes. Hinata walked up to the side of the bed and put her hand on the girls forehead which was surprisingly warm.

Almost immediately, the girls eyes snapped open and swept over the room, taking in all they could. In less than seconds, the girl had jumped out of the bed and lunged at Shino, as if she was holding a knife. Shino just grabbed her wrist and held it effortlessly, keeping her far enough away so that she couldn't hit him. Akamaru barked at her fiercely and she turned her attention to him. She snarled, revealing sharp teeth and with one hard yank, she broke free of Shino's grasp and lunged at Kiba instead. But he was too quick for her. In the blink of an eye, he had her in an arm lock with her own kunai at her throat. She looked at the kunai in horror, then at Kiba with a look that said help me.

"What a way to wake up!" Kurenai exclaimed with a laugh and put a hand on the girls shoulder. Kiba released his grip and slid the kunai back into his pocket with one quick movement. The girl proceeded to look up at Kurenai, looking thoroughly frightened. "Don't worry, we're not gonna hurt you. Can you tell us your name?" the Jounin asked. The girl hesitated, then shook her head. "You don't want us to know your name" she asked in confusion. The girl shook her head vigorously.

"You don't want to tell us your name?" Hinata asked. The girl nodded her head in agreement.

"So you want us to know your name but you don't want to tell us." Kiba said, sounding very annoyed. The girl turned to him and frowned in disapproval.

"Maybe it isn't that she won't tell us... but that she can't." Shino said, breaking the silence. The girl turned to Shino, looking happy, then jumped over and hugged him. He blushed slightly as she let go and smiled at him.

"So you can't speak?" Kurenai asked. The girl turned to her and nodded. "Would you write down your name for us?" The girl nodded after a moment hesitation. "I'll be right back then." she said and left the room. The girl immediately walked up to Hinata and tugged at her jacket, then pointed at herself.

"You want to try it on?" Hinata asked quietly. The girl shook her head then tugged on her own hospital shirt before pointing to herself. "What do you mean?" Hinata asked her.

"Your clothes?" Shino asked. The girl turned to him and nodded with a smile.

"Oh! We don't know where they are. Sensei might…" Hinata explained. The girl nodded and turned to Kiba. She walked up to him and came so close that their noses nearly touched and surprisingly, Akamaru didn't bark. Her red eyes seemed to be trying to tell him something but he just couldn't understand. She then reached a hand into one of his pockets and she finally realized what she was after. He took her kunai from his other pocket and held it out to her. She looked at it and sniffed it for a moment before giving Kiba a cautious look and snatching the kunai away from him. At that moment, Kurenai returned with a slate, an eraser and a few pieces of chalk.

"Here you go." she said and handed them to the girl. The girl smiled thankfully, then sat back down on her bed. "So then, can you give us your name now?" the Jounin asked. The girl nodded her head then wrote her name on the slate and turned it so everyone could see.

"Aka Tsukiko" was what was written on the slate, getting some surprised reactions.

"Is that really your name?" Hinata asked, a little nervously. Aka nodded sadly for Aka means bloody.

"Are you a ninja?" Kurenai asked, eying the kunai which was once again in its owners hands. The girl nodded her head a few times then her eyes widened and she began to shake her head vigorously.

"Well, which is it? Are you a ninja or not?" Kiba asked rashly. Aka hesitated a moment before erasing her name from the slate and writing her reply.

"Yes and no. I can't really explain…" the slate read..

"What village are you from?" Hinata asked softly. Aka began to scribble out her reply from earlier and write a "none" underneath the white scribbles.

"What do you mean?" Kurenai asked.

"I have never stayed in any village very long so I do not really have a village." Aka wrote.

"Didn't stay long… Wait! How old are you?" the Jounin asked. Aka hesitated a moment before writing 11 on her slate.

"So, that makes her a year younger than us…" Shino mused. Aka erased her last words and wrote furiously.

"What are your names?" she wrote and held it up for them all to see.

"We haven't told you have we?" Kurenai asked her. Aka shook her head then proceeded to look at everyone expectantly. "Well, I'm Kurenai Yuuhi and these are my students." Kurenai explained. Aka nodded then turned to Hinata.

"I'm Hinata Hyuuga." Hinata said, blushing under the other girls intense gaze.

"I am Shino Aburame." Shino said simply and Aka smiled, then nodded. She then turned to Kiba and cocked her head expectantly.

"I'm Kiba Inuzuka and this is Akamaru." he muttered and Akamaru barked. Aka smiled then tugged on her hospital shirt then pointed to herself.

"She wants her clothes." Shino explained when Kurenai gave her a puzzled look.

"I can't see why. They're bloodstained beyond repair. Do you mind if I take you out to get new clothes?" the Jounin asked. Aka hesitated a moment before shaking her head.

"May I still have the old ones back?" she wrote and gave Kurenai an almost pleading look.

"Oh, alright!" she said after a moment of thought. Aka smiled and hugged the older woman who stiffened in shock then patted the girls head. "Alright, now before I get the clothes we have one problem that needs to be resolved." Kurenai said seriously once the young girl had let go so she could breathe again. "Aka can't live in the hospital. She needs somewhere to stay." Silence settled over the room and Aka stood so still that it seemed she almost wasn't breathing. "I have barely enough room as it is and she is not permitted to live with me anyway." Kurenai explained.

"I regret that there is no way she will be able to stay with me and my family." Shino said, sounding as emotionless as usual.

"I-I don't know but I can ask my father." Hinata offered. Akamaru barked, then Kiba sighed.

"You can stay with me if Hinata's dad say no…" he offered reluctantly. Aka smiled then started to breathe again.

"Now then, I'll go get your old clothes and when I come back, we'll go shopping. Sounds good?" Kurenai asked Aka. The young girl nodded and smiled then the Jounin left the room.

"Thank you." Aka wrote on her slate, making sure that everyone read it. Aka then took her knife over to the water basin on a table near the wall and began to vigorously scrub away the now dry and faded blood from the knife's sharp edge.

After a moment, Kurenai returned carrying Aka's bloodstained clothes in her arms. Aka pulled her now clean Kunai out of the basin and dried it on her shirt before gathering up her old clothes from Kurenai's arms.

"Alright, we have a new mission. I met Tsunade in the hall and she gave me some money. We are all to take Aka clothes shopping. She seems to have taken quite an interest in our mysterious friend!" the Jounin announced. Hinata smiled as Aka hugged her and Shino remained expressionless. Kiba, in the meanwhile, was groaning and cursing the world as well as going on about how girls took forever to shop and ended up buying half of every store.

Aka looked at him angrily then walked up to Kiba and smacked him over the head. Akamaru proceeded to bite Aka's hand and when he did not let go, she leaned in and bit the puppy's ear. Eventually, they both stopped when Kiba started freaking out.

"S-should we go?" Hinata asked, giving Kiba a nervous look.

"I think so. Now Aka, I suppose you should change into your blood-stained clothes until we get the new ones. We can't have you going around in a hospital outfit." Kurenai pointed out. Aka nodded then took her old clothes into the bathroom adjacent to her hospital room. She came back moment later, wearing her old clothes and carrying the folded hospital clothes in her arms. She set them down on the bedside table before picking up her kunai, her chalk and her slate. "Right. We'll start at the Hikari shop." Kurenai said with a small smile then led her squad out of the room.

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The Hikari shop was close to the hospital and specialized in everyday clothing but also had just about everything else as well. Kurenai was mostly the one picking out the clothes and every once in a while, Hinata would pick some out as well. They continuously heaped the clothes into one of the changing rooms with Aka who seemed completely overwhelmed and confused by what was going on.

Finally, Shino pointed this out to Kurenai who immediately began to go through and put many of the things back. the first thing that Aka actually tried on was a pair of leggings, a denim skirt and a red halter top that Kurenai insisted she try on. It was immediately discovered, once she came out, that she did not like it very much. It was then that the group really saw how underfed Aka was. You could almost see her ribs poking through the fabric of the shirt.

Kurenai then sorted through the clothes again and muttered about how hard it was to find something she would look good in. Shino left at some point and Kiba didn't even notice for quite a while, but when he did, he cursed his teammate for not taking him along. But, Shino returned a few minutes later carrying something in his arms which he handed to Aka when she came out of the dressing room.

When she came out, she was wearing a white dress that came to just below her knees. It was a fairly simple dress and yet, it was perfect for it didn't show her body's shape. She smiled thankfully at Shino and once Kurenai had gotten over the shock, she congratulated Shino. They left the store soon after that and stopped at no others, much to Kiba's relief.

The group followed Hinata to her house and she went inside to ask her father if Aka may stay with her. Outside, you could hear some angry yelling and Hinata came back not soon after, looking as though she had just cried. "I'm sorry, Aka-chan. Y-you can't stay with me…" the Hyuuga flustered.

"Alright then Kiba, looks like she's gonna have to stay with you." Shino said, his voice almost laughing at his teammate. Kiba gave him a death glare.

"Alright…" he said then led Aka to his house once he had said goodbye to the rest of the team. Kiba didn't say another word to the girl but just led her to the spare room where she curled up on the bed and slept, without even eating. And as Kiba drifted into sleep later that night, Aka struggled in her sleep, fighting with her inner nightmare.


	2. Chapter 2

-1 Kiba sat outside Aka's hospital room feeling nervous. The last few weeks had flown by and the more time went by, the more Kiba had noticed the strange way Aka ate. She would eat three meals at once then not eat for three days… It was just so strange. She was also prone to fainting, another thing he had discovered in the past few weeks.

Tsunade came out at that moment, looking a little worn out and shook her head sadly. "What's going on?" Kiba asked, trying hard not to sound anticipated. Tsunade smiled.

"I'm afraid Aka had bulimia. It's a sin, you know. A young child like that…" Tsunade explained. Akamaru barked angrily and Kiba nodded.

"What's bulimia?" he asked quickly.

"It's an eating disorder. It means that she goes on an eating binge, then pukes it up. So how long did it take you to notice this?" she asked.

"Uh… about three weeks…" Kiba muttered, feeling pretty guilty. Tsunade's eyes widened and she began to shake with anger but took a deep breath and exhaled.

"Alright, I'll forgive you if you start paying attention and actually get this girl to eat!" Tsunade ordered. Kiba's eyes widened and he nodded, starting to fear for his life. "Alright, you can go in and see her. She's awake." Tsunade said with a big smile and walked off. When Kiba had calmed down, he went into the room where Aka was sitting down, facing away from him at towards the window.

"Uh… Are you gonna be ok, Aka?" Kiba asked. Aka turned around and smiled then nodded. Kiba smiled back and Akamaru barked. "So, you wanna get something to eat?" Aka hesitated a moment before nodding slowly. "Great!" Kiba exclaimed and led her out of the room. He hated to admit it, but he was starting to become attached to Aka. He found it really cute, the way she followed him like she was Akamaru.

They went to Ichiraku ramen where Naruto was sitting and stuffing his face, naturally. Kiba sat down and ordered before motioning for Aka to sit between him and Naruto. She did so reluctantly and almost as soon as she did, Naruto looked up, his mouth full. "Hey, who are you?" he asked once he'd swallowed.

"Her name's Aka Tsukiko. This is Naruto Uzumaki, by the way, Aka." Kiba introduced, so Aka wouldn't have to get out her slate. She smiled at Kiba and Naruto but as she looked at Naruto more, she seemed to look a little strange.

"Hey! Nice to meet you Aka! I'm gonna be Hokage, believe it!" Naruto burst out triumphantly and put a hand on Aka's shoulder with a grin. The girls eyes widened then closed as she fell forward. Kiba sighed and caught her head just before it fell into her bowl of ramen which had arrived just moments earlier. "Huh? What did I do?" Naruto asked in confusion.

"Nothing. She faints almost daily at this point." Kiba said, sounding annoyed. He took his glass of water and dropped it over her head, waking her up. She sat up moments later, looking dazed and a little dizzy.

"Weird…" Naruto said as he looked and looked at Aka for a moment. "Hey, where's the rest of your team, dog-breath?" Naruto asked.

"Not sure. Kurenai gave us the day off. Hey! Don't call be dog-breath you moron!" Kiba exclaimed, just realizing what the fox-boy had said. Naruto snickered and Aka began to eat some of her ramen. Akamaru barked at someone in the street and they came and sat down. It was Kurenai and the rest of squad 8.

"So, how is she? Did Tsunade say anything?" Kurenai asked as she sat down and ordered for her team.

"Yeah, she said that Aka's bulimic." Kiba replied and Akamaru barked in agreement.

"B-bulimic?" Hinata asked, sounding confused.

"Yes. That can be really dangerous, especially with her being so young…" Kurenai said, more to herself. "Well, with her in this condition, we should not be leaving her alone. Not for long anyway." the Jounin said.

"W-why not, Kurenai-sensei?" Hinata asked.

"Well, if we want her to start eating and not puking, we'll need to have someone watching her all the time." she replied.

"But that's impossible! We can't always have someone with her!" Kiba exclaimed. "We have missions to do!"

"Well, we can get some help from the other Genins I suppose. I'll be talking to the other Jounin teachers then." Kurenai said with a nod. "Does that sound alright, Aka?" she asked. The young girl turned to her and after a moment she nodded.

"Oh! I'll be with her sometimes! And I'll make sure she eats lots of ramen!" Naruto said with a grin. Aka's eyes widened and she almost looked scared.

"Thanks for volunteering Naruto… We'll let you know when we need your help." Kurenai promised. "Well, if you three aren't doing anything special, I have a new jutsu to teach you." she said to her Genin students.

"Would Aka come as well?" Shino asked.

"Yes, she would have to, I suppose." Kurenai said.

"Well, alright then." Kiba said and Hinata nodded in agreement. "Come on, Aka." he said and got off his stool. The girl did the same as him and then followed him and the rest of his team to the forest training grounds. When they got there, Kurenai turned around and smiled.

"Right then. I'm going to teach you a genjutsu which is known to mostly higher level shinobi and is often hard to master, but is very useful in battle." she explained.

"G-genjutsu?" Hinata asked a little nervously. Kurenai nodded.

"So, what kind of genjutsu anyway? What's it do?" Kiba asked impatiently and Akamaru barked in agreement.

"Well, this jutsu is meant to help conceal your position and still let you attack your opponent. But, as a warning, you need excellent accuracy and chakra control, or you'll use too much." Kurenai warned and everyone just sort of nodded. "Alright, the justu is called _Shuriken Clone Skill_." she said.

"So, you clone your shuriken… isn't it just like a cloning jutsu?" Shino asked.

"Well, sort of. It's a bit more difficult because you aren't just making the shuriken appear beside you. You have to make it seem like it's coming from all different directions, so that the enemy can't decipher which is the real shuriken." Kurenai finished up. "So, any more questions?"

"Uh, yeah. How do you do it?!" Kiba asked angrily and Aka smiled a little. She had been paying very close attention, but was only standing off at a distance, watching them.

"Don't be so impatient. I was getting to that. Well, you have to make sure to focus your chakra thinly to many different locations, but we'll just start with one. Here, I'll go slowly and try to mimic me." she said before turning around and doing some hand signs, making a kunai appear on the opposite side of the grounds, flying at her. When it got close to her face, she cut off her chakra and it disappeared. "Did you get that?" she asked and looked at her squad. Everyone just sort of nodded. "Alright then, who wants to try first?" she asked.

Hinata stepped out first, a little nervously. She did the hand signs, as her sensei had done and it produced a shaky shuriken that was only a few metres away. It didn't go anywhere, but just dropped to the ground and disappeared. "Good job. That was an excellent first attempt. Alright, who next?" Kurenai asked, looking at her two other squad members.

"Whatever, I'll go." Kiba said and started doing the hand signs, but couldn't get the sequence right. He got it the fourth time though, and his kunai appeared near the far end of the training grounds before going a few meters and disappearing.

"Good, we'll need to work on the hand signs again though. Shino?" Kurenai asked, turning to her last student. Shino stepped forward silently and did the hand signs, mimicking his sensei perfectly but didn't release the chakra fast enough as Hinata ducked from the illusionary weapon. Kurenai caught it just before he released his chakra to it and she clapped. "That was really good, all of you. You've all pretty much got it."

Aka looked at them a little nervously before slowly raising her hand, as if she was in a classroom. Hinata was the first to notice her who motioned for her sensei to look over. Kurenai did so and was a little taken aback. "Uh, yes Aka?" she asked and Aka began to write on her slate.

"Can I try?" it read. Everyone was sort of silent for a moment before Kurenai nodded.

"Uh, sure." she said, even more surprised now. Aka stood up and looked around carefully as if choosing a target. She then did the hand signs, but she didn't do them quickly. She did them slowly, as if she didn't want to let herself get excited and was putting thought and meaning into each sign. The shuriken came from the sky moments later, raining down upon the field, but not anywhere near squad eight or its sensei. Aka's blood red eyes were faced towards them and as they grew more dim, more shuriken began to rain down and one struck Kurenai's arm. She put her hand up and felt blood, before she looked back at the young girl. Aka saw the blood and her eyes seemed to clear and widen, looking frightened and she quickly cut off all the chakra abruptly, making them all freeze for a moment before disappearing. Everything went silent and stayed that way as the squad stared at the girl in shock as she breathed a little heavily and attempted to catch her breath.

"Whoa…" Kiba said finally and Akamaru wimpered. Everyone seemed to snap out of it once he'd broken the silence.

"How did you learn to do that so quickly, Aka-chan?" Hinata asked quietly and Kurenai shook her head.

"She didn't do the jutsu I just taught you. She just did the _Shadow Shuriken Clone Skill_." Kurenai said slowly.

"What's the difference?" Kiba asked.

"Well, just like shadow clones, shadow shuriken are solid and can actually hurt you. I can't use that move, it takes amazing chakra control. The last person I've seen perform it successfully and effortlessly was the Third Hokage himself…" Kurenai explained which just made them all stare at Aka more. The girl blushed and took out her slate again.

"I'm sorry." she wrote. "I just wanted to try it. I won't interrupt your lesson any more."

"Interrupt? I think that's a little strong. More like, furthen or something like that." Kiba said.

"Is 'furthen' even a word?" Shino asked calmly. Kiba just shrugged in reply. Aka smiled nervously, still blushing slightly.

"Well, thank you for that demonstration, Aka. I'm sorry, but I've got to go speak with Tsunade. Train tonight if you can, but we'll practice this again tomorrow." Kurenai said, cutting the lesson short and with a nod to everyone, she poofed away.

"T-that was amazing, Aka-chan. Could you teach me?" Hinata asked shyly.

"I don't know how I did it." Aka wrote and gave the Hyuuga an apologetic smile.

"Don't know how you did it? Strange…" Shino muttered to himself.

"Well, I'm gonna get home. I'm starving! See you guys tomorrow!" Kiba said and started towards home while Akamaru barked his sort of 'good byes'. Aka waved to the other two and ran after Kiba, following him to what was her temporary home. The walk was pretty silent for a while and Aka continued to stay behind Kiba, ask if afraid of what he was thinking.

_She seems nervous and fidgety, as if she's regretting doing the jutsu. Maybe she was. How much chakra did she have, anyway? Didn't you need a lot to pull off that move? I'd used a lot just trying to do what I did and the jutsu's Kage level? Just who is this girl? _Kiba thought to himself, sneaking looks backwards every once in a while as she looked at her feet, continuing to follow him.

They passed the ramen stand on the way back home and Naruto was there again. Or maybe he was just still there, but Kiba didn't bother to stop and say hello. He was too busy being buried in his own thoughts. Naruto called out a hello anyway and Aka replied with a wave and a smile before she turned back, the smile disappearing immediately from her face.

Kiba didn't say anything more to Aka and she seemed to be even more quiet, which was impossible. Maybe it was just that she seemed more distant than usual. He did make sure she sat down with the family and ate though, even if she only picked. No one really noticed anyway, as they were all talking to each other. They didn't say anything when she left early either, nor when Kiba left right after her.

Aka went into what was currently her room and sat down on the bed. She sighed before lying back on the bed and drifting slowly into an uneasy sleep. A few minutes later, Kiba walked by the room and saw her lying there. He started to walk into the room, but changed his mind and left, turning out the light and closing the door behind him, leaving her in the darkness.


	3. Chapter 3

-1"Come on Aka. Kurenai said we had to meet her at the academy in 10 minutes." Kiba said and she got up from the breakfast table and started walking behind him. She was eating a bit better now, for which Kiba was grateful. He really was thinking of her as more of a pet than a person. He couldn't really help it, she didn't talk and acted just like a dog. She even romped and played with Akamaru like he used to when he was younger. He led the way towards the academy where Shino and Hinata was waiting. They greeted him and Aka while they waited for their sensei. In the meantime Sakura, Sasuke and Naruto showed up. Naruto invited Aka to eat ramen with him later, but she didn't really answer.

"W-why are you here, Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked, blushing lightly.

"We're waiting for Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto exclaimed excitedly. Ino walked up a few moments later, arguing with Shikamaru who appeared to be ignoring her, with Chouji following both of them, eating a bag of chips.

"Why is everybody coming here?" Kiba asked.

"We're meant to meet our sensei here." Shikamaru answered as they came up. "Man, this is such a drag…"

"Where are they anyway?" Chouji asked, swallowing before taking another mouthful of chips.

"I don't know, but they can take all day, right Sasuke-kun?" Ino asked and walked over near Sasuke who didn't even look at her.

"Well, I'm sure they'll be here soon!" Sakura replied in his stead, stepping closer to him, but keeping her angry gaze on Ino.

"Speak of the devil." Shino said as Kurenai and Asuma walked up to the academy, seeming to be deep in conversation. They didn't really see anything when they saw their students and just continued their conversation until Ino butted in, rather gently.

"Are we going to be training soon, sensei?" she asked sweetly, making Sakura glare even harder, if that was possible. Asuma just shook his head.

"Not until later. When Kakashi gets here, we'll explain." he said and turned back to Kurenai. Surprisingly, Kakashi showed up not long after, which was much earlier than he usually did since all his students were in utter shock. Mind you, the fact that Gai was half dragging him there might have had something to do with it. Along with them, Gai's squad was following, looking just as confused as the rest of the Genin felt.

"Hello, everyone." Kakashi said with a little sort of wave or salute.

"Kakashi, my one true rival, how dare you ignore my challenge! Do I sense fear in your heart? Fear of the almighty Gai?!" Gai asked and laughed while Kakashi, and just about everyone else rolled their eyes.

"I'm afraid you're just too much for me today, Gai. I give up." Kakashi said, sounding bored, and held his arms in the air as a sign of submission.

"Ha! I knew it!" Gai said happily and high-fived his mini-me, I mean Lee.

"So, why exactly are we all here then?" Sasuke asked, sounding uninterested and impatient.

"Well, everyone, say hi to Aka." Kurenai said and pulled the girl in front of her, so everyone knew who she was talking about. The girl looked around quickly, looking very scared of all the people.

"But I already know who she is!" Naruto whined and Sakura hit him over the head.

"Shut up, you moron! Obviously, it was meant for everyone who doesn't!" she said angrily, putting her arm down but keeping her fist clenched, just in case she needed it again.

"Hey, Aka." Lee said and looked her up and down, while she leaned back, closer to Kurenai.

"Alright, for those who don't know-" Kurenai started with a wary look over at Naruto. "Aka can't talk. She also has a little eating problem and can't be left alone." she continued and at the sound of _'eating problem'_ Choji perked up a bit. "So, us Jonin teachers have decided to take shifts, of sorts, so that she can be watched." she finished finally.

"Our team is going to be meeting later in the day, since we've already made up a schedule and Ino is at the top of it. Shikamaru is next and then Shino." Asuma said and Shikamaru groaned.

"What a drag." he proclaimed, earning a glare from Ino.

"Well, we'll get around to the rest of the schedule as we need it. In the meantime, you're all free to go, except my squad." Kakashi said and gave his group a stern look as everyone but Ino, Aka and Squad 7 left. "Now, we have a mission." he said and Naruto groaned.

"Not more boring missions!" he burst out and Ino took Aka by the hand.

"Come on, Aka. I've gotta go help in my parents shop since I'm not training yet. They sell flowers." she explained as she sort of dragged Aka away from the Acadamy entrance and into the city, towards her family's shop. When they entered, Ino took her place behind the counter while her mother headed into the back room and Aka just stood there, turning around in circles, and breathing in the scent of all the flowers around her. Ino held back from laughing at her, in case she happened to insult her, but it was strange. It was as if Aka had never seen or smelled a flower before. A moment later, Kami (Ino's mother) returned from the back room.

"I wouldn't mind taking the register if you and your friend would like to arrange a few bouquets." Kami said kindly. Ino was about to protest, as arranging took more work, but she caught sight of Aka's face which was filled with wonder at the suggestion.

"Uh, sure! I think she'd like that." Ino said and motioned for Aka to follow as she went into the back room. All the flowers were already set out, along with their individual orders. "Here, you can do this order, ok?" Ino asked and handed one of the papers to Aka. The white-haired girl nodded with a smile and read the paper before starting to arrange the flowers in the vase. Ino went to work and by the time she looked back, she'd finished the other two orders. Aka was nearly finished, and was placing the remainder of the roses in the vase. The bouquet was so beautiful… Ino had hardly ever seen anything like it. "Wow…" she said and Aka looked over at her with wide eyes, as if she'd forgotten the other girl was there.

"Oh! I'll get the bandages!" Ino said as she saw all the pricks on Aka's fingers, most likely from the roses. She ran over to the cupboard and took out the antibacterial and some bandages before returning to the other girl. Aka, in the meanwhile, was turning her hands over, watching them heal magically in front of her eyes. Ino watched for a moment until all the tiny holes and droplets of blood had disappeared from Aka's pale hands. "W-what was that?" she asked in shock and Aka took out her slate.

"I healed myself with chakra." she wrote and smiled.

"That's really cool! Do you think you could show me how?" Ino asked and Aka looked a little nervous before she shook her head. "Why not?"

"I don't know how I do it… I just think about it healing and it does." Aka wrote and Ino nodded.

"I guess you have really good chakra control." she pondered. At that moment, Shikamaru walked in, looking lazy and pretty zoned out. "Huh? Shikamaru, what are you doing here?" Ino asked.

"I'm meant to take her now, or something." Shikamaru said and yawned.

"Oh, right. Well, I guess I'll see you later, Aka-chan!" Ino said with a smile and a little wave. Aka did the same before following Shikamaru out of the Yamanaka's shop.

"So, what do you want to do?" Shikamaru asked, once they'd gone a little ways down the street. Aka thought for a moment before shrugging. "Hmm… well, you wanna play a game or something?" he asked again and Aka started writing on her slate.

"What kind of game?" she asked and looked at him, waiting for an answer.

"Well… how about checkers? Do you know that game?" he asked and she shook her head before writing something else on her already fairly full slate.

"Can you teach me?" she wrote and he sort of shrugged.

"I guess so. Man, this is gonna be a drag…" he said lazily and changed routes towards his house with Aka following, trying to erase her slate with the bottom of her dress. She'd succeeded by the time they got to his house and he led her out to the patio before disappearing inside. He came out a few minutes later with a checkerboard and a bag full of pieces in hand. He began to silently set up the game while Aka watched in awe.

"Alright." he said finally once he'd finished setting it up. He looked her straight in the eyes and began to explain exactly how to play, before making the first move. It didn't take long before Aka really caught on and soon enough, Shikamaru found that he was actually having to try to beat her. Usually, with just about anyone else, it was too simple to beat them, but it was almost as if she was analyzing and calculating as he was, waiting and reading each move he made. He liked it and soon found himself losing, and losing pretty badly. She won with only a little less then half her pieces left, to Shikamaru's surprise. "You must have played this before." he protested without much effort but Aka shook her head and smiled before taking out her slate again.

"Thank you!" she wrote enthusiastically.

"Heh, no problem, and I guess this wasn't such a waste of my time. You'll have to play me again so I can win, go it?" he asked and she nodded happily. "Well, I've got to meet my Sensei, so I guess I'll take you to the academy. I guess that's where Shino will meet you." Shikamaru said, looking over at the clock on the wall. He was part way out the door with Aka following when he turned around. "Hey, do you want something to eat?" he asked and she shook her head and wrote on her slate.

"No thank you, I'm fine." and he nodded.

"Right then." he said and continued leading her towards the Academy again. She followed silently and kept her head down, not really meeting anyone's eyes. She might even have recognized a couple of people if she'd looked, but she still didn't know this village. She only knew squad 8 and their sensei, if you could actually say she knew them. "Well, here we are." Shikamaru said, pulling Aka out of her thoughts and back into reality. Shino was standing in front of the entrance, looking very patient and calm. The two Genin just sort of nodded to each other before Shikamaru left without a word.

"Do you know what you want to do?" Shino asked and Aka shook her head. "Hmm… have you eaten?" he asked again and, reluctantly this time, she shook her head again. "Right then." he said and brought her into a nearby restaurant. When she didn't order, he did it for her and they sat in a booth, waiting for their food to arrive. In the meanwhile, a few of Shino's bugs came out and he almost seemed to be listening to something they were saying, while Aka watched intently. He looked up a little while later, but Aka couldn't read his expression through his sunglasses. He just continued staring at her, or she assumed so. The glasses were dark enough that he could be looking somewhere else, but his face was still towards hers.

"Are you alright?" she wrote and gave him a concerned look. He nodded slowly.

"Do you like bugs?" he asked finally, watching her gaze shift from the bugs on his palms back to his face. She began scribbling furiously on her slate.

"Yes! I love them!" she wrote and showed him the slate with a wide smile.

"Hmm… I see." Shino replied, not really sounding surprised, but a faint bit of color appeared on his cheeks, not that Aka noticed. Their food arrived moments later and they ate in silence, for the most part. Though they didn't really say anything, they seemed to be connected and together as if they were having a private conversation that no one else could hear… To be honest, it was the closest Shino had felt to someone outside of his family in the longest time. Maybe it's because she couldn't speak, or maybe because she liked bugs. Perhaps it was even the fact that he was there when she was found, but Shino felt connected and drawn to her. There was something not quite right about her, and he felt the same way sometimes. She seemed to understand.

They finished their food and went back outside where the sun was beginning to set. Aka hadn't realized how fast the day had passed until that moment and allowed Shino to lead her back home, or at least to Kiba's house where Kiba and Akamaru were waiting. Aka and Akamaru immediately started playing a sort of tag game on the front lawn while Shino approached his teammate. "How was she?" Kiba asked right away.

"Good. She ate a bit, but not much." Shino answered and watched the girl run around the lawn, smiling and laughing a silent laughter. "She is strange." he stated after a bit and Kiba nodded in agreement.

"Yeah she is… But, I'm glad it was us who found her. It's the best thing that's happened to Akamaru in a long while!" Kiba joked and both boys silently added the same sort of thing in their heads. Aka had not been there long at all but she seemed to be changing things… It was odd how much of an impact she was having.

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow at training." Shino said and left without so much as a wave or anything while walking down the lane. Aka silently waved after him, even though he didn't turn around, but she didn't wave for long since Akamaru tackled her and sent her to the ground. She laughed silently again as the dog licked her face happily. _Yes, she definitely was weird _Kiba thought to himself silently and headed in the face, with both Aka and Akamaru following. Aka went right into her room and closed the door while Kiba headed up to his room and slept long and deeply.

Aka stared at her ceiling shaking her head every once in a while. "No… I won't let them know it… not if I can help it…" she whispered to herself and turned over, letting herself drift into an uneasy sleep.


End file.
